Hi, the Unitarian Universalist Association has a Musician’s Network, populated mostly by UU music staff, plus the odd choir member (of which I am one – an “odd choir member”).
Recently there was a conversation about recordings of UU hymns. I thought I would share a portion of the conversation, with names of those in the conversation redacted.
Posted question:
A young member of our congregation wants to know how to find recordings of the hymns.He loves the lyrics to so many,? and wants to play them in his home, as he and his wife are tending a new baby.
Thanks for any resources.
Reply:
Recording music, including hymns, is considered “producing” in copyright law, and permission is needed from the copyright holder of each hymn. That being said, there are some options for your congregant:
- When Scott Roewe was Director of Publications, he oversaw the professional recording of accompaniment tracks for 4 popular hymns: Comfort Me, De Colores, The Fire of Committment, and Gather the Spirit. See … http://www.uumn.org/default.asp?page=hymns
- Many of our hymns can be found on YouTube. Of course, you will find a wide variety of versions and arrangements.
- Pastor Kimberley Debus has an excellent blog called “Hymn by Hymn,” which includes links to many exceptional versions of our hymns. See … http://farfringe.com/hymns-in-numerical-order-1-200/